Dynamic Business

It was Paris Cutler’s own experience with ordering a very expensive and disappointing wedding cake that inspired her to make cakes her business. But that’s where the cute part of this story ends.

Planet Cake has nearly gone bust three times, contributed to the break-up of her marriage and been plagued by copycats, intimidation and even people bringing hidden cameras in. It’s been a roller coaster ride starting with giving birth to daughter Estelle the very day she bought the business seven years ago.

“People think cake decorating is all pretty and frilly. It’ a blood sport, it’s brutal, “ says Cutler. “It’s a small, secretive market and everyone’s fighting over it.”

Cakes for Kidman and Rihanna

Today, the couture cake shop is a business success story, best known for the impressive iced creations its designers dream up for celebrities. They’ve made birthday cakes for Rihanna and Celine Dion and cakes for the nuptials of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban, and Lleyton Hewitt and Bec Cartwright. And the list goes on. But Cutler comes from a very different background.

“Before buying Planet Cake I was a corporate drifter,” says the 37 year old. “I tried stockbroking, law and recruitment. It wasn’t engaging for me. I really wanted to own my own business but what could I invent? What was going to be my big idea?

“When I was in stockbroking, the bicycle couriers used to be known as the rats of the city, then someone came along and corporatised them, gave them uniforms, and made big money. It was a brilliant idea. When I went through the process of ordering my own wedding cake it cost a fortune and the whole experience was horrendous. That’s when I thought, ‘This is it’. I knew I could design cakes, so I went into the industry as a partner and when the opportunity came up I bought Planet Cake.